“We’re trapped in a Dan Brown movie,” said the late-night host, adding that Trump was indeed the antichrist before quickly clarifying that he was only joking.

Stephen Colbert reacts to Trump’s ‘offensive’ AI Jesus photo that sparked antichrist claims, backlash

"We're trapped in a Dan Brown movie," said the late-night host, adding that Trump was indeed the antichrist before quickly clarifying that he was only joking.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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April 15, 2026 10:45 a.m. ET

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Stephen Colbert; Donald Trump. Credit:

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS; Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty

- Stephen Colbert thinks "we're trapped in a Dan Brown movie" after Donald Trump sparked backlash by posting an AI image of himself as a Jesus-like figure.

- The Knights Templar has since demanded an apology from the president while Trump's supporters have been voicing concerns that he may be the antichrist.

- Trump deleted the image and later claimed that he thought it showed him as a doctor, not the son of God.

Someone call Tom Hanks, because Stephen Colbert is pretty sure that we've taken a wrong turn and magically ended up in a Dan Brown movie.

During his opening monologue on Tuesday, the *Late Show *host reacted to the backlash Donald Trump is facing after he posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus-like figure on social media. The president has since deleted it, and later claimed that he thought it depicted him as a doctor, not the son of God.

"By now, I'm sure everyone here has seen the AI slop image that he posted depicting himself as a cross between Jesus and Doctor Strange," Colbert began. "This recreational blasphemy got Trump so much heat that he pulled the post down from social media, and now people can only see it everywhere on the internet."

Stephen Colbert hosts 'The Late Show'.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Despite Trump's attempt to scrub the image from his social media, Colbert noted "the damage has been done" and that, as a result of the image, "even staunch Trump supporters are now asking if he's the antichrist."

"It's an interesting theological question, but who are any of us to judge whether — yes, yes he is?" the comedian said. He then walked up, grabbed the camera, and cheekily clarified, "I'm joking, obviously."

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Stephen Colbert says Trump's trolling of Pope Leo XIV heralds a biblical leveling-up: 'new circle of hell' unlocked

To say Trump's post ruffled some feathers is putting it mildly. "Here's how offensive Trump's AI Jesus post was: The Knights Templar said they condemn it wholeheartedly and asked for a public apology," Colbert said. "The Knights Templar! He's angered the Knights Templar!"

He continued, "Well, it's official: We're trapped in a Dan Brown movie. Quick, somebody find Tom Hanks and give him a terrible haircut."

Dan Brown is the author of*The Da Vinci Code*,* Angels & Demons, *and* Inferno*, all three of which have been adapted into history-infused thrillers for the big screen, with Hanks starring as religious iconology and symbology professor Robert Langdon.

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The reaction to the Trump image has been so bad that the "vice president and scornful hamster" (Colbert's words) JD Vance even visited Fox News to defend the president's actions, calling it a "joke" that got lost in (biblical) translation.

"It was just humor!" Colbert declared. "God humor — the Bible's full of it!"

The host was also perplexed by Trump's decision to lash out at Pope Leo XIV on social media. "Why would you start a beef with the pope?" Colbert asked.

He later added, "It's gotta piss Trump off to learn that the most popular guy on the planet lives in a palace dripping with gold and wears an insane hat and it's not him."

Watch Colbert react to Trump's social media streak in the clip above.

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Source: “EW Talk”